Safety
by FlollopingMattress
Summary: Magic in children is fickle at best. Sometimes children did it on purpose and other times on accident. Sometimes it is done out of necessity. Like when six year old Harry ended up on a strange planet, in a time not his own. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: If I owned either story I wouldn't have a disclaimer here now would I?

"Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men." - Monsignor, "Boondock Saints"

I have made some crucial changes in this chapter. Tried to make it flow well into the next few chapters. We'll see how it works out.

**Warning: Will be slash.**

Safety: Prologue

He had to run faster. Had to find somewhere safe. He knew that he shouldn't have done anything to Dudley. He should have just let them beat him until they got bored. Instead he had actually struck Dudley back, and Dudley was furious. He knew that the only reason why he had managed to slip through Piers hold was because of their shock. He had never fought back before. He wasn't supposed to fight back. Fighting back was apparently the push that Dudley needed to make his beatings deadly. At least, that's what Harry thought he saw from the glimpse that he gotten of Dudley's face before he took off running as fast as his legs could carry him. Harry considered running to a teacher for a moment before he banished that thought, knowing that if he got Dudley in trouble his uncle would no doubt finish what Dudley was trying to start.

He could hear one of them, probably Nick as he was the fastest of Dudley's group, catching up to him. He needed to get away. Fast. He needed to get out of sight and hide for a while.

There! He could hid in the small woods behind the school until the lunch break was done. It would be harder for them to find him with in the trees and bushes.

Just as Harry was coming up on the edge of the woods he felt something brush against the back of his arm, before a large hand suddenly wrapped around his upper arm. Harry cried softly in surprise as he fell to the ground from the abrupt stop and rough pull to his arm that Nick made. They had him. And in a minute Dudley would be there and they would kill him. They would drag him to a remote part of the school and kill him. Harry's heart raced as he futilely tried to tug his arm away from the tight hold ignoring the pain as the grip on his arm tightened.

"I've got him." Nick had a malicious grin on his face as he called to to quickly approaching Dudley. The remainder of his gang tailing behind the red faced boy. A red mark on his cheek where Harry had kicked him.

Harry's attempts to pull his arm away became more and more frantic the closer the rest of the gang came. Nick cried out and released Harry's arm after Harry quickly turned his head and bit down on Nick's arm. Harry was free. He could escape.

Too late.

Dudley and his gang had already reached them. Had already closed off any means of escape that Harry had. Nick screamed with rage as he reached down and grabbed Harry by his hair, pulling him to his feet before he and Piers grabbed his arms to prevent him from being able to protect himself from the blows that were sure to follow shortly. Together the boys quickly pulled the still struggling Harry into the woods and out of sight from anyone who might pass by.

Tears started streaming down Harry's cheek as his fear finally overwhelmed him. Once they were a ways into the woods Dudley was in front of him in a flash, teeth grinding as he balled up his meaty fist preparing to strike Harry with as much force as he could manage.

Harry closed his eyes solemnly his tears continuing to fall from his eyes. Knowing that there was no more escape for him. He just wanted to be safe. He was never safe. He was safer in his closet. But never truly safe as long as Dudley and Vernon were around. There was no safety for a freak like him.

Harry's breath was violently expelled from his lungs when the first hit struck his abdomen. Before he could inhale the second blow came down hard on his cheek cause him to bite his tongue. He was sure to have a bruise, if only for a few hours. His bruises never stayed long. That's why he was a freak. If he weren't so freakish maybe somebody would love him. Maybe he could be safe.

The blows continued to come down as he turned his mind in towards itself. If he didn't react they would get bored faster. And maybe, just maybe Dudley would get bored before he killed him.

It wasn't until the end of lunch bell sounded that Harry was let go. Unable to support his own weight anymore he fell with a yelp to the ground, grimacing in pain as he curled up on the floor of the woods trying as best he could to protect himself from any more harm. Moving hurt so much. But he was glad that he had curled up as a few kicks came his way from Dudley and his gang as they walked past him toward the school. A whimper escaping his lips as a particularly strong kick hit some ribs that were more than tender from one of Dudley's earlier hits.

Harry gasped for air as he laid there waiting until after the second bell signaling the start of class was herd. Once he knew that there was little chance that Dudley or any of his gang would still be around he attempted to move. It hurt too much! He couldn't even find the will to turn his head and spit the blood that was continuing to fill his mouth. Breathing seemed more difficult than it should have been. Almost like he were trying to breath under water. Was he drowning? What would he be drowning on? There was no fluids besides the blood that was slowly running down his face from his nose and lip and slowly leaking out of a few of the open wounds that Dudley had managed to cause. Harry was overwhelmed by a painful coughing fit as blood climbed up his throat and peppering the grass in front of his mouth with blood. He was drowning on his own blood. His breaths started coming shorter and shorter as it became more painful and harder to breath. Coughs racking his slight form every so often trying to empty his lungs of the blood that was filling them. He clenched his eyes shut wanting the pain to go away. Wanting to be away from this life of his.

Wishing to be safe.

Rather abruptly the birds that had finally returned to chirping shortly after Dudley and his gang left were silent. A loud buzzing was in his ears. Had a bugs crawled in them? No, they wouldn't have been able to get to the one as Harry was lying on it. His head was starting to hurt, and the annoying buzzing wouldn't go away! He laid there for a bit simply trying to get the buzzing to go away! After a while it had finally receded, not gone, but it buzzed at a manageable rate. Almost seeming to pulse along side Harry's heart beat. Harry breathed a sigh of releaf as the pounding in his head left. Though the birds hadn't returned. Harry strained his ears hoping to hear something. And he could. He had thought himself deaf for a moment before he realized that he could hear the muted sound of people in the distance. Thunder rumbled loudly overhead.

Thunder? There wasn't supposed to be a storm today. In fact it was supposed to be a rather nice day. Harry felt a drop of water hit is face. It shouldn't have been raining on him. The trees should have provided some cover.

This was wrong! Harry's eyes snapped open with surprise at that thought only for them to be shut immediately as his vision swam in front of him making him feel a bit queasy. This wasn't the woods behind the school. From the small glance he had taken he could tell that he was on a sidewalk of some kind. Maybe he had passed out from the pain and Dudley and his gang had moved him after school. He didn't think he had passed out. But the pain had been unbearable.

Harry needed to get home before he got into even more trouble with his uncle. No doubt Dudley would tell Vernon about what happened today. And Harry knew there would be hell to pay. He probably wouldn't be fed tonight. Or for a few days for that matter. And that was only if his uncle didn't murder him for striking Dudley. He uncurled himself as he rolled onto his back before trying to open his eyes again.

Once again his eyes opened, surprise dancing clearly in his emerald colored irises. It didn't hurt. Moving didn't hurt him that time. Letting out a long exhale of air Harry had to wonder how long he had been out. Harry had thought it was the same day, but he shouldn't have healed that fast. He healed faster than normal yes, but he had been pretty sure that he wasn't going to heal fast enough and he was going to be asphyxiated by the life giving fluid that ran through his veins.

"You had best get home soon." A soft voice interrupted his thoughts, startling Harry so badly that he jumped up and whirled around fast enough to give himself whiplash. Harry stared wide eyed at the woman stand no more than 10 feet from him, the buzzing in his ears heightening for a moment before going back down to a dull drone.

She was beautiful in her light gray clothes and soft brown hair knotted loosely in the back to keep it out of her face. At least she was beautiful by Harry's standards. Not that he really had much to compare to. Just his horse faced Aunt Petunia and the teachers at his school. But none of them had ever graced Harry with a smile like what was currently on this woman's face. It seemed to make her whole face glow with happiness and laughter.

"There's a storm coming." The woman continued looking a bit amused by Harry's reaction as Harry twisted his head and rubbed his neck trying to get the pain to recede. "Your parents are probably worried. Especially with how fast storms develop here." She gently prompted looking at him with gentle eyes. "I know that I would be worried sick if I had a little one that wasn't home when a storm was about to hit."

"Don't have parents." Harry muttered shyly. "And my relatives wouldn't care." His voice carrying on the wind that was beginning to pick up. The woman's mouth made an "O" shape as she looked at Harry with a sympathetic light in her eyes.

"You are like me then?" She questioned having to raise her voice slightly to be herd over the rumble of thunder that pronounced the arrival of the storm. "A slave?" Before Harry could answer she shook her head and grinned, though her eyes seemed sad to Harry. "Well you can stay with me until the storm passes. Then we'll get you back to your home." She quickly walked towards Harry and reached down to grab his hand, her eyes growing sadder when Harry simply looked at her hand with suspicion clearly showing on his face. The woman simply nodded, her smile now seeming a bit strained, as if she were trying to not show Harry her sadness, before continuing past him calling for him to follow her quickly so that they could get inside.

It hurt, Harry realized, to see sadness of this woman's face. As such he quickly rushed to catch up to her and tentatively reached out to grab her hand. She turned her hand towards him making it easier for him to slip his small dry and cracked hand into her own warm one. Harry looked up at her face to gauge her reaction, and though she wasn't looking at him he could clearly see that her smile had once again brightened her entire face and pure joy shone through her eyes.

It was a short walk to her house, though by the time they arrived it had truly started raining and both of them were soaked to the bone. Once inside the woman bent down to remove her soaking shoes from her feet. Watching as Harry followed her example before pulling Harry over and to sit at the table.

"Now what is your name?" She asked as she moved over to the stove and putting a kettle on. Harry worried his bottom lip between his teeth. Would he get in trouble for talking to her? She had mentioned that he was like her. Was she a freak too? She had mentioned being a slave. Is that what Harry was? Or was he both? Would she find him to be a freak too? He didn't want her to dislike him. Harry started shaking with both fear and cold, before a small towel was placed over his hair and kind arms encircled him in warm though moist hug.

"Come now." She whispered pulling back and ruffling his hair though the towel. "If your master doesn't want you telling anyone I won't tell anyone that I know it. It will be our secret." She brought one of her hands up, bringing a single finger to her lips in a hushing motion before giving Harry a wink.

Harry stared up at her through his bangs for a moment, lamenting the fact that he hadn't been blessed as to have such a kind and beautiful mother like this woman.

"Harry." He whispered. He had a secret now. That he shared with her. It was their secret and no one else would ever know. He felt a grin try to overwhelm his face as he blinked back tears of exhilaration.

"Harry." The woman repeated moving her hands down to rub his arms, causing them to warm slightly despite the cold water still dripping from the both of them. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Shmi."

Done!

Note: I have no idea what planet Shmi lived on when she was owned by Pi-Lippa. So forgive me if it didn't have storms.


	2. Comfort

Disclaimer: If I owned either story I wouldn't have a disclaimer here now would I?

"It is the will of the Author that separates good stories from bad. For without the will to write, a story will remain an unshared idea."

**Warning: Will be slash. Of the male/male variety. Eventually. After several more chapters. Maybe.**

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><p>Safety: Chapter 1 – Comfort<p>

After they had introduced themselves Shmi had gotten up and left the room for a while. Sitting there in silence gave Harry time to think. And panic. What if she was calling his uncle? Or the police? He would be in big trouble. Harry sat there wondering what would happen to him and small shakes started running through his body. He wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from fear. Perhaps both and that was what was making him so tired.

Harry had just about worked himself into a panic attack by the time Shmi came back. Now dressed in some dry clothes and with a towel in her arms. Seeing his shivering form she hurried over to him and had him wrapped in the large fluffy towel before he could even blink.

"There now." She crooned to him. "Let's get you dried off and warmed up." She moved her hands in a fast rubbing motion over his arms and back, taking the moisture away and giving his limbs some warmth back. Harry felt horrible and guilty. How could he have thought that a kind beautiful woman like Shmi would get him in trouble? He sniffed lightly as his shivers slowly calmed until they only occurred once in a while.

Both of them startled when the kettle on the stove started whistling, prompting Shmi to shuffle over to it and remove it from the heat. Harry watched as she deftly pulled two mugs out of a cabinet. One she added some type of powder to and the other she added a tea bag to before pouring warm water into them both. She opened a drawer and pulled out a spoon which she then used to stir the mug that she had put the powder into. Harry pulled the towel closer as what little warmth Shmi had given him with her rubbings quickly fled to be replaced by a chill.

"Drink up." Shmi placed one of the mugs in front of Harry before sitting next to him with her own mug firmly in her hands. Harry slowly untangled his arms from the towel and cautiously, so as not to spill anything, brought the mug closer to himself.

The smell and color of the drink were something that Harry was familiar with, since during the winter he would make several cups of it a day for Dudley. It was something the other boy had really seemed to enjoy and Harry mourned the fact that he had never been allowed to try any of it himself.

"Hot chocolate?" Harry looked over at Shmi with a puzzled look on his face. Questioning whether he was actually allowed to drink something that he had been told was reserved for 'good little boys, and not dirty freaks like himself.'

"I'm glad that you know what it is at least." Shmi took a sip from her mug and let out a delighted sigh before continuing in an even softer voice. "I know it's unusual for someone like us to have such a luxury like that. But my master is kind to me and allows me small things. Like this home and everything in it. That chocolate was a gift from Pi-Lippa." At the word gift, Harry move the cup back to where Shmi had placed it and set his hands in his lap.

"You should drink that before it gets cold. It won't help warm you up if it isn't warm." Shmi took another sip of her tea while sending a puzzled look at Harry over the rim of the mug. "Do you not like hot chocolate? I can get you something else. Maybe some tea or I might have some milk left." Harry shook his head rather violently.

"I've never had hot chocolate. But it was a gift to you and I shouldn't take your gift from you." Harry once again pulled the towel tightly around him and slouched down into the seat. "Dudley got a book one time for a present, but he didn't want it and just threw it into the garbage. So I took it. I had never had anything of my own. But Dudley found out and said that I had taken his book from him even though he hadn't wanted it." Harry sent a longing look at the mug sitting in front of him on the table.

"What happened Harry?" Shmi asked, removing one of her hands from where it was wrapped around her mug and placing it on his shoulder as he shuddered at the memories. Her hand was warmer than normal, Harry noted, from being held against the warm mug. And Harry was starting to get cold again. Not as cold as he was before he had the towel, but the towel was wet now and cooling off quickly. Harry was glad that he was wrapped up in the towel so that Shmi couldn't see how badly his hands were shaking. They had cooled quickly from what little heat that he had managed to steal from the mug.

Shmi set her cup down and stood up slowly, reaching out to tug the towel from Harry's small form. Harry stared up at her hoping that she wouldn't notice the tremors that were running through his hands. Was she upset because he didn't answer? Harry could hear the rain outside and knew that if she threw him out he would have to find cover quickly so as not to completely freeze.

"I'm going to go see if I can find something dry for you to change into." She announced turning to head back through the door that she had disappeared into earlier. "Think of the chocolate as a gift. From me to you. It's all yours. You can drink it if you want. Or not. It's yours to do with as you wish." With that she walked out of the room, leaving Harry alone again. Only this time there was something to bring comfort to the boy while she was gone.

Harry once again reached out and brought the cup off the table and to his chest, looking down into the still slightly steaming liquid. A gift. Someone had given a freak like him a gift. His family had always said that freaks didn't deserve gifts. He stared into the cup in wonder, the smell of chocolate wafting up to tease his senses. A ripple on the surface of the drink confused him for a moment, before he realized that he was crying again. He didn't want to drink the chocolate. It was his first gift. But if he didn't drink it there would be no point to it. He wiped the tears from his face and brought the cup up to his mouth, inhaling a large whiff of the mild flavor before slowly tipping it back and taking a small amount into his mouth.

The complex flavor of the chocolate seemed to explode on his taste buds. A blend of sweet with a little bit of bitter. A smooth flavor that made Harry want to quickly chug the rest of the mug like he had seen Dudley do often. But Harry knew that something this exquisite was not something that should be devoured quickly. It was something to be savored and rolled across the tongue to taste the full flavor.

It seemed that swallowing the beverage was just as nice and rich as tasting it. The liquid seemed to warm his throat, even though Harry hadn't thought that his throat had been cold, as it traveled down to his stomach, where Harry could swear he felt the warmth of it spreading outwards trying to warm him to his toes. Feeling almost instantly warmer Harry relaxed back into the chair, cradling his mug and taking long slow sips of what could only be described as liquid comfort. Feeling calmer than he ever had before Harry glanced around taking in the home that Shmi had selflessly invited him into.

There was the table that he was currently sitting at, with its chairs. General kitchen supplies, like a stove and refrigerator, although they looked far fancier than anything the Dursleys would ever own. Two closed doors sat on the opposite wall from the front door. One being the room that Shmi had disappeared into twice now. And a bookcase in the corner that looked as if the objects on the shelves were just waiting for someone to pass by so that the things closest to the edge could fall on the unsuspecting victim. There very top shelf was filled with books while the rest of the shelves had electrical things that Harry had never seen anything like before. On one of the higher shelves Harry thought he could see something that was leather, but he couldn't be sure. It was these gadgets that also occupied the chair directly across from Harry as well as a few boxes in the corner that, from what Harry could see from the one that didn't have a lid, were filled with more electronics.

Looking closer at some of the gadgets on the shelves he realized that they were all in different states of deconstruction. A lot of them had wires sticking from them, others looked to have pieces missing and only a few actually appeared like they might be fully put together. But Harry really didn't know anything about electronics so perhaps they were supposed to have wires sticking out. There were a few pictures scattered on the walls, all of them depicting landscapes of different varieties.

Catching a flash of movement out of the corner of him eye, Harry turned to see Shmi standing against the door frame with a bundle of cloth in her arms, amusement sparkling in her doe brown eyes.

"Does it meet your approval?" Shmi strode over and returned to the seat she had vacated not too long again. The cream bundle, that Harry could now tell was a thick shirt, was set on the table. "The chocolate." Shmi replied with a laugh at Harry's puzzled look, "And my home. Do they pass your inspection?"

"They're amazing!" Harry relied with no small amount of awe in his voice. "I know why Dudley likes hot chocolate so much. Though I can't understand why he doesn't savor it like it should be." Harry took another mouth full of his drink, closing his eyes in bliss. Swallowing he opened his eyes and looked directly into Shmi's eyes and declared with no hesitation "Your home is brilliant. Nothing at all like the Dursley's." His eyes flashed to the bookcase before returning to Shmi's. "Aunt Petunia always has me clean everything up. The only thing they have out are pictures. I don't like it. It doesn't feel like a home." At that statement Shmi froze, her eyes wide with bewilderment.

"Your owner is your Aunt?" Shmi sounded as if the were about to cry, as she eyed Harry's clothes that could only be the old castoffs of someone that was much larger than him. "Your own family didn't set you free?" The mere thought that someones family could keep one of their own as a slave broke Shmi's heart. She felt as though the hope that she had in people wasn't just breaking into pieces but shattering into fragments that were too small to ever be put back together. The shards digging deeper into her heart every time she looked at Harry's innocent face. If she ever had a child, she would do anything in her power to gain their freedom. To save them from the only life she could remember. Already she could feel the conviction welling inside of her compelling her to help Harry gain his freedom.

Her thoughts were broken when Harry questioned her meaning of being owned and freed, as he stared into his now empty cup with a look that only a child could manage. A look of someone who had had something special and it was now gone. Something that most others would not see as something important. The look of a child that had just finished off the first sweet they had ever had.

Perhaps Shmi had been wrong and Harry wasn't a slave. She had just assumed by his clothes and the callouses that she felt on his small hands. His hands were those of someone who had done manual labor for years. But surely he was too young to have been working for years. He couldn't be more than four or five. It was then that Shmi realized that perhaps he was older than that, and that he had not had an adequate diet so far to grow to an appropriate size for his age.

"Being owned means that you're a slave. You are nothing more than a possession that your master can do what ever they like with. Most consider you to be worth less than the dirt that they walk on. It's a hard life. And it's when you become someone in the rest of the universes eyes that you gain your freedom." Shmi looked up at that ceiling with a deploring smile on her face. "It is the wish that every slave has, regardless of how their master treats them."

"What do slaves do?" Was Harry's reply, although the words were a bit shaky from the shudders that had once again returned to his small body. No doubt from the damp clothing that were still hanging loosely from him.

"It depends on their master." Shmi stood up and grabbed Harry's hand tugging him gently to his feet, and herding the small boy towards the unknown door after grabbing the shirt from the table. Upon opening the door Harry was greeted with the sight of a small bathroom. There was a small single person standing shower straight back with towel rack on the back of the door. A fluffy towel draped over it. Next to the shower was a toilet and to Harry's immediate right was a sink with a small mirror faced cabinet above it and a pair of doors underneath it. Everything in it designed to be practical and take up as little space as possible. Shmi placed the shirt on what little counter space there was by the sink before taking two steps and turning the shower on, adjusting the knobs to a comfortable temperature. "Cleaning and cooking are the most common chores for slaves. Some masters will have the slave run errands for them. It depends on the master, some are rather kind, like Pi-Lippa. And some do not see their slaves as being living creatures. Go ahead and take your clothes off sweetie. We'll get you warmed up in a shower before you catch your death."

"What do you do?" Harry systematically removed his clothes. Holding each article of clothing in his arms so that no part of the clothing would touch the floor. Despite his best efforts to prevent it some water dripped off the cuffs of the jeans. Harry stared at the water on the floor in almost a trance, before he quickly dropped the clothes and threw his arms over his head as he made himself as small as possible in the corner of the room. "I'm sorry!" He babbled. "I didn't mean to get water on the floor! I'll clean it up!"

Shmi was utterly stunned. To have had such a sever reaction because of some silly water on the ground? Harry looked as if he was going to be punished for it. But if he really was a slave, Shmi knew that some masters would punish their slaves for less than that. Simply because she could not see any injuries did not mean that his master was kind. Slowly, so as not to startle the child, Shmi crouched in front of him, placing her hands on his rather bony knees, rubbing them gently with her thumbs.

"It's just some water Harry. Nothing was hurt." She removed her hands from his knees, turning her body slightly to see the pile of damp clothes on the floor, right where the drops had fallen. She snatched a hand out to the clothes, grabbing them and flicking her wrist to clean up any water that might have been under them before pulling them into her arms. "See." She shifted slightly so that Harry could see where the clothes had been when he looked up. "There's no water on the floor." She smiled slyly. "I think it must have been a simple trick of the light." Harry was still curled up on himself, in a position that would protect any important parts of him from harm if he were attacked. Though she saw a glimpse of green through his bangs as Harry's eyes darted between the spot where the clothes had been, the clothes themselves currently resting in Shmi's arms, and Shmi herself.

"A trick of the light?" Harry was still moving cautiously as he uncurled himself and they both stood fully. Shmi gave the largest smile Harry and ever seen and nodded her head once.

"Nothing but a trick of the light." She repeated. "Now can you bathe yourself? Or would you like some help?" Shmi kept shooting glances between Harry and the shower wondering once again exactly how old the boy was. He seemed a bit too intelligent to be the age that she had previously thought he was.

"I can take a bath all by myself. Unlike Dudley. He always throws a fit when ever Aunt Petunia tries to leave." Harry scrunched up his nose in what Shmi thought was the most adorable expression she would probably ever see. Shmi gave a small laugh, which caused Harry to smile, his face almost seeming to explode with joy. She then moved around Harry, giving Harry a gentle push toward the shower as she passed him, his old clothes still held in one of her arms.

"That's because he's not as grown up as you Harry." Standing in the doorway she grabbed the knob, preparing to close the door and give the boy some privacy. She doubted that he knew it but she could see the stress was catching up to him. And she very much doubted that he would allow himself to cry when someone else was there. "Go ahead and use what ever you want. And once you're all clean and warm put that on," she inclined her head toward the shirt, "and come back out. I'll make something more filling while your showering." She paused in the doorway. "As for what I do, Pi-Lippa has been teaching me how to fix things. Like circuit boards and droids." And with that she closed the door, leaving Harry with nothing but his thoughts.

He seemed to be alone with his thoughts a lot today. Perhaps he was meant to think a lot today. Harry cautiously climbed into the shower, trying to make sure he didn't slip on the floor, almost falling into the wall when he jumped slightly as the warm water hit his tingling flesh. He was having a hard time wrapping his mind around this. Shmi was a slave, and what she told him about slaves it sounded as if he was one as well. If that were the case why had he never herd about slaves before? Surely if the Dursley's had a slave it would be because it was a sign of prestige to own one. Harry rubbed his hands through his hair making sure it was fully wet as he realized that he wanted very much to stay with Shmi. He didn't want to go back to the Dursleys. He wanted Shmi!

Harry could feel water forming in his eyes, though he would later claim that it was due to soap or something getting in them. Although that would have been a better excuse if he had been using some soap. Harry grabbed the bar from the small shelf in the shower, sniffing it lightly before running it over his body and hair. The soap smelled nice, although it rather reminded him of the pouring rain he had been in not too long ago, it also reminded him of Shmi. Tears were streaming down his face, indistinguishable from the water. By the time he had rinsed himself off there were no signs of his tears.

Harry figured out how to turn off the shower after looking at the knobs for a few seconds, though not before he turned off the cold water entirely and was hit full in the face with almost scalding water. He gave a cry of shock quickly turning the knobs to stop the flow of water. Once the water was off Harry stood there dripping wet, his skin slightly pink from the hot water, as he wondered how hard it would be to convince Shmi to let him stay here. To not let the Dursley's know where he was. Harry still wasn't sure what being a slave meant, but Shmi had mentioned that it was every slaves wish to be free. And Harry desperately wanted to be free of the Dursley's. Hopefully Shmi would be willing to help him get free from the Dursley's.

He slowly opened the door and stepped out of the shower, eying the towel that hung off the back of the door. Would he be allowed to use it? The Dursely's never let him dry off with a towel, he just had to get into his clothes wet. But Shmi had said that he could use anything. He reached out a hand, grabbing the towel and rubbing it between his hand. It was very soft, and it would probably feel very nice to curl up in it. To let it take the water that was starting to cool off his body.

What would he do? He had already decided that no matter what he would not being going back to the Durlsey's. They wouldn't report him missing. They would probably throw a party because he was gone. But would Shmi be willing to take him in? Would her master allow it? Perhaps Shmi's master would be willing to take Harry as well. Harry had decided that he didn't care if he was free or what kind of master he had, as long as he could stay with Shmi.

Harry took the towel and wrapped it around his small shoulders. The towel could easily wrap all the way around him twice! And he loved it. Loved the feel of the soft fabric on his face. Loved the way he instantly felt better about everything. Harry and dressed himself off in a hurried manner, as he very much wanted to talk to Shmi about what would happen to him.

The shirt was long on him, looking more like a dress. He wrapped it as tightly as he could around himself before tying the sash as tight as he could get it. It was a feat made more difficult by the sleeves that were constantly trying to slip over his hands. He looked again at the towel that he now had no idea what to do with. He couldn't just leave it on the floor or counter or Aunt Petunia would have his head. It was as he was hanging it back up on the back of the shower door that he realized his Aunt wouldn't know about the towel. He wasn't at the Dursley's, and if he played his cards right he wouldn't ever be going back there.

Shmi looked up from the stove where she had been making some stew as Harry padded into the room. Looking a million times better though still tired, as apparent by the way he was currently trying to hide his yawn.

"Dinner won't be done for a while." She stirred the food one more time before placing a lid over it and turning down the heat. "How would you feel about taking a nap before then?" She herself was feeling rather tired after a long day of work. Pi-Lippa didn't push her that hard, but it didn't mean that it wasn't hard work. A couple of droids had malfunctioned and she was tasked with taking them apart and seeing if anything could be done about them. She had managed to get one of them done today, but the other one was turning out to be more difficult in finding the faulty piece.

Not to mention Pi-Lippa's health was on the decline and Shmi didn't know how much longer her elderly master would live. It was emotionally taxing to see her master in such a state of decline, knowing there was nothing she could do except make Pi-Lippa more comfortable.

Shmi set a timer to go off when the stew was done and went into the other door, that Harry could only assume led to her bedroom. She had left the door open and Harry could see her climb into the bed that rested on the opposite wall. She watched as she quickly settled down, her breathing evening out into sleep, and Harry longed to join her in the bed, to cuddle with her and feel her arms wrap around him and keep him safe from the Dursley's. But freaks weren't allowed beds. They didn't deserve them. With a saddened heart and one last glance at Shmi, Harry laid down on the floor along the wall between the the bedroom door and the bathroom.

Shmi nestled down quickly, expecting Harry to come join her in the bed. She waited a bit, perhaps Harry just needed some time to think before he fell asleep. Or perhaps he was just gathering his courage to enter the room. With that thought Shmi quickly fell into Morpheus's grasp.

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><p>Note: My dog died, my other dog has cancer, my rabbit chewed threw a bunch of rather important cords and I keep forgetting to eat. My mind is stagnant right now.<p> 


	3. Introductions  Part 1

Disclaimer: If I owned either story I wouldn't have a disclaimer here now would I?

"The bonds that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each others life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof." Richard Bach

**Warning: Will be slash. Of the male/male variety. Eventually. After several more chapters. Maybe.**

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><p>Safety: Chapter 2 – Introductions<p>

Despite having been woken by the loud shrill of the kitchen timer, Shmi was feeling rather refreshed, and lounged lazily for a few moments. Or as lazily as she could with such a loud noise being emitted in the other room. The good thing about stew, was that a little bit longer on the heat wouldn't hurt it at all. All sense of fatigue left her quickly when the alarm stopped, and she sprang from the bed, her eyes wide at the thought of someone else in her house. She eyed her partially open door warily as she strained her ears to hear any movement outside her door. The only thing she could hear was her muffled breathing and the blood pounding in her ears. Why would anyone break into her house? She had nothing of value. Maybe they were after Harry? Harry! Was he alright? She had to move. To make sure that her little boy was okay. She wouldn't let anyone hurt him anymore.

With that resolve she moved over to her door on light feet, pushing it gently so as not to make a noise. There was nothing abnormal in the room bar one little boy, with clouded over eyes, standing on a chair at the stove with a wooden spoon in his hand that he was using to stir the stew. Shmi blinked in shock. She hadn't herd him move the chair. Either he had moved it while she was sleeping, which seemed unlikely, or he was very used to moving around silently. Shmi watched him for a moment, as he reached out a hand and opened the cupboard by his head, reaching in only for him blink at the cupboard where his hand was resting against her cups. His other hand remained on the spoon, continually stirring the stew with out the spoon ever hitting the side of the pot.

He withdrew his hand from the cupboard after closing it without a sound, a perplexed look on his face. Shmi let out the breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. He had reacted to the timer going off and had tended to the stew. A soft sob escaped Shmi's lips as she realized that he must have been used to tending the cooking for years for him to have reacted with such quiet and careful movements.

Harry turned as soon as Shmi made a noise, turning on his heels, only to loose his balance and fall off the chair. Shmi didn't think she had ever moved so fast in her life. As soon as she saw her boy tipping backwards she was moving towards him. She knew that she wouldn't be able to reach him in time, but she was going to try.

Harry hit the floor with a thud, his mouth open in shock. Shmi was already there, kneeling at his side, her hands hovering over him wanting to check him for injury but not wanting to touch him in case she made any injury worse. Harry moved on his own, rolling onto his side and coughing a bit, trying to regain his breath. He was getting rather tired of not being able to breath. The pain he felt from the fall and having his breath stolen from him was far less than what he felt after Dudley or Uncle Vernon got a hold of him. Gentle hands rolled him over onto his back and doe brown eyes stared down at him.

"Are you alright?" Harry sat up, tensing up slightly when a hand was placed on his back, and looked around confused, wiping the sleepers from his eyes. It was Shmi. Harry had thought she had been a dream. That his chance to escape the Dursley's was a dream. But beautiful, kind Shmi was kneeling next to him, with her hand on his back to help him sit up. Harry could feel himself relaxing as he leaned sideways into Shmi. He fought back the tears of relief that he could feel welling up in his eyes. He had done enough crying to last a life time. He was going to stand up for himself and convince Shmi that she wanted him here. That she didn't need to let the Dursley's know he was here.

Shmi wrapped her arms around her boy in a tight hug, rubbing her cheek against his feather soft hair. He was safe and unharmed. And that at the moment was all that mattered to her. She pulled away, moving her hands to his face, rubbing her thumbs across his cheeks.

"Are you alright? You're not hurt anywhere are you? You should be careful around the stove. You could have burnt yourself. You also shouldn't stand on chairs, or you might fall, like you just did. Why didn't you come take a nap with me? Where did you sleep? Are you hungry?" A loud grumble erupted from Harry's stomach at the mention of being hungry, interrupting Shmi's inquiry. Harry and Shmi simply stared at each other, Harry's cheeks slowly turning pink, causing Shmi to grin. "It would seem as if you would like some food." Shmi could swear that if she smiled any more her face would split in two. "Harry why don't you move the chair back to the table and I'll dish up some food for us."

Harry and Shmi stood up together and went to do their respected tasks. Shmi quickly pulling out two bowls and ladled up some stew for the both of them, as Harry grabbed the chair, taking it over to the table with out dragging it on the floor, and setting it down with out a sound. Grabbing the bowls and a couple spoons Shmi turned towards the table, seeing Harry standing next to one of the chairs, his small hands playing with the tie of the shirt that he was wearing.

"You can sit down you know." Shmi meandered over and took a seat, setting a bowl in front of herself and one in front of the chair next to her. When Harry didn't move Shmi picked up her spoon and started eating, blowing softly on each spoonful so as not to burn her tongue. She smiled around the spoon in her mouth as she saw Harry climb into the chair and pull the bowl toward himself. They ate in silence, thoughts running at a fevered pace through Shmi's head.

What had Harry done while she had taken a nap. It was clear that he had reacted to the timer going off in his sleep, so he had been sleeping as well. But where had he been sleeping? She didn't sleep heavy enough to have no noticed him entering and exiting the bed. Had he slept at the table?

They remained in silence for a bit after they had both finished eating. It was Harry that moved to take the bowls to the sink, but was stopped from even grabbing Shmi's bowl. "You don't have to do that Harry." Shmi took her own bowl and plucked Harry's from his hands, looking down into it when she realized it was heavier than it should have been. Harry hadn't finished his food, hadn't even eaten half of it in fact. "Are you really finished?" At Harry's shy nod, the shards of shattered hope dug deeper into Shmi's heart. It would seem that Shmi's fears about his malnutrition had been correct. Meaning she had no idea how old her boy was. The question of his age fell from her lips as the cleaned the dishes in the sink. Six. He was only six. According to him he would be seven in a couple months.

She wasn't going to let him go back to his family. Tomorrow she was going to talk to Pi-Lippa and discuss what they could do with the boy. Hopefully her master would allow him to stay here, with her. Her house was small but she would make room for him. They would just have to get another bed for him and he would come with her during the day to Pi-Lippa's. Pi-Lippa would probably want the boy taught about electronics, like Shmi was being taught.

Harry still wasn't sure what to make of Shmi. She treated him like Aunt Petunia treated Dudley. He sat at the table, staring at Shmi's back as she washed the same dish for several minutes. He needed to figure out how to best convince her to let him stay here. The buzzing in his ears was coming back, growing gradually louder the longer he thought. But he couldn't let it distract him. He had to stay here. He didn't think that he would be able to convince her that he was useful, as she wasn't letting him help around the house at all.

As if sensing his thoughts the buzzing in his ears suddenly increased in pitch and volume, cause Harry to clench his eyes shut and hold his hands over his ears. No matter how hard he pressed on his ears the buzzing wouldn't be drowned out. His head fell with a soft thump onto the table as he gnawed on his lip to prevent him from making any noise. It hurt so badly. Harry could swear that his ears were going burst. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, but didn't dare move due to the pain.

"...Ry!...Ha...Ar...kay..." Was someone trying to talk to him? He could here a little bit but the buzzing was drowning out what they were saying. What was going on? Harry pried on of his eyes open and glanced at the person at his side. It was Shmi. Of course it was there was no one else there. But she was concerned about him? The Dursley's had never been concerned when he was injured. But she cared. And everything would be alright.

It stopped. The buzzing was gone and he could hear again. Harry slowly pried his hands away from his ears, lifting his head fully to stare at Shmi. Her mouth was moving but Harry wasn't listening. Everything would be alight and that was enough for Harry to lay his head back down on the table and drift off to sleep, a small smile on his face.

Shmi was baffled as she stared down at her sleeping boy. She had turned to ask him where he had slept, to find him apparently in pain. He hadn't responded to anything except for her hand on his back. She had been frantic, and just as she had set her resolve to call Pi-Lippa to see if they could get him looked at by a doctor he had turned and looked at her. All signs of pain gone, minus the bite marks on his lip. She wanted to know what happened, but he had put his head back onto the table and fallen asleep! What a thought. One minute he's in pain and the next he's off in his dreams.

Shmi sighed and strategically gathered her boy into her arms and took him into the bedroom. She still didn't know a lot about him, like where he had slept that evening. But she could wait until morning to get her answers, and he would be sleeping in a bed tonight! She tucked him into her bed giving him a kiss to his forehead before she headed back out the door, turning off the lights and closing the door behind her. She still needed to put their dinner away and make sure that his clothes were cleaned for tomorrow before she headed to bed herself. She was going to do all that she could to make sure that he stayed with her.

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><p>When Harry woke the next morning he was warm and curled against something. He was also laying on something soft, which was hurting his back a bit. He tried to shift and get up, since his bladder felt like it was ready to explode. Only to find his movements impaired by an arm. Harry followed the arm up and looked upon the sleeping face of Shmi. He felt calm, as if everything was how it was supposed to be. Except that he still had to go to the bathroom, rather badly.<p>

After gingerly moving Shmi's arm so that he could escape, Harry rushed out the bedroom door and pulled a fast U-turn, heading into the bathroom. Once he had finished, he entered the front room and was still a bit to sleepy to really feel surprised when he saw Shmi at the kitchen counter. She turned and started towards him, causing him to take a step backwards, his back hitting the door that he had just closed.

"You're clothes are in on the bed. Let me just shower and then we'll have some breakfast before we need to head out." Shmi gracefully placed her hand on his shoulder, pulling him slightly away from the door so that she could slip around him and into the bathroom. Harry could hear her turn the shower on as he moved toward the bedroom, preparing to get dressed and make breakfast for them.

When Shmi exited the bathroom after showering and getting ready for the day, she was greeted with the sight of little Harry, wearing his too large clothing, once again standing on a chair at the stove. His small voice spoke up before she could make a sound.

"I'm not sure what to make for breakfast. I didn't recognize any of the foods in your frigerator or cabinets." Shmi walked up beside him to see that there wasn't anything on the stove. "So I wasn't able to cook breakfast for you."

"You don't have to cook breakfast for me sweety." Shmi moved opened the refrigerator and pulled out some eggs.

"I know. But I wanted to. You made dinner for me." Harry fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "What are those?" Harry questioned as he eyed the two fist sized, round, blue speckled eggs that were in Shmi's hands. Shmi handed them over to Harry so that she could reach over and pull out a skillet, setting it on the stove and turning on the fire under it.

"Eggs. So don't drop them. They're hard to clean up." Harry looked at the eggs in his hands, his brows furrowing with confusion.

"They're blue. And bigger then normal eggs. What laid these?" Harry handed one of the eggs over to Shmi when she held out a hand for one. She deftly cracked it on the side of the pan and dropped the inside of it into the pan. "And the center is green!" Harry traded the whole egg for the shells in Shmi's hand and watched as she did the same to the second egg.

"These are urusai eggs." She reached over and pulled out a spatula from a drawer, quickly scrambling the eggs. "What kind of eggs do you usually eat?"

"Chicken eggs. They're smaller and white, though sometimes we get brown eggs. And the center part is yellow." Harry peered at the now green scrambled eggs. "What's a oreasay?"

"Urusai. Can you hand me two plates? They're in the cabinet by your head." Harry quickly did as she asked and watched as she divided the eggs up into two portions and put each portion on a plate. "They're reptavians from Tatooine." She set the pan in the sink and grabbed the plates heading over to the table? "Do you like salt or pepper on your eggs?"

Harry quickly moved the chair over to the table and sat on it, shaking his head and looking at the green eggs on his plate. He had no idea what reptavians where or where Tatooine was, but he wasn't about to ask questions before he was fed. Questions at the Dursley's often meant not getting food.

"I've never had eggs before." Shmi's was completely flabbergasted. She could understand never having had chocolate before, but to have never had eggs? They were filling, cheap and healthy, the perfect food for slaves. The only thing that might be more filling, cheaper and healthier was gruel but only the worst masters gave their slaves that. Harry was already spooning some eggs into his mouth. "They're weird tasting." His nose crinkled though not in disgust. Shmi stood up and grabbed the pepper off the counter, sprinkling a little of it over both of their eggs.

"Try it now." Shmi ate some as she watched Harry try the newly seasoned eggs. "Better?" At Harry's nod Shmi went back to her food. Only to be interrupted when she realized something. "Harry?" She questioned. "Did you say that you usually had chicken eggs?" Once again Harry simply nodded as his mouth was currently full of eggs. "As in the birds from Earth?" Another nod. "Harry, those birds have been extinct for a few hundred years now." Shmi stared at Harry as he turned his head and stared back at her, swallowing the last bite of his food. He must have been really hungry to have finished so quickly.

"What does extinct mean?" Harry picked up his plate and carried it over to the sink. Shmi finished her eggs as she watched him take the chair over to the sink and scramble up it, washing his dish before putting on the rack to dry. "If you're done I'll do yours too." And so Shmi took her plate over to Harry watching as he skillfully washed the dish clean and set it aside to dry.

"Extinct means that they're all dead." Harry was now washing the pan and spatula that she had used to cook the food with. "It means that you can't get chicken eggs anymore." Once again Harry's brows were furrowed.

"Aunt Petunia got eggs just the other day at the store." He licked his lips. "Maybe you can only get them in London." The pan was cleaned and set a side.

"You're from London?" Shmi grabbed his hand and led him back over to sit at the table. "From Earth?" Harry was looking at her as if she were dumb.

"Of course I'm from Earth. People can't live on other planets." Shmi sat down with a rather heavy sigh.

"You're not on Earth. You millions of light years away from Earth." They were both stunned. Shmi because Harry didn't know about the other planets, although that could be because of his age. But he spoke as if he knew of the other planets. Perhaps his masters had made him believe that he was on Earth. That would explain how they were able to have slaves as Earth was part of the republic and slavery was abolished. "This is Piroket in the Arkanis sector."

It was difficult for his young mind to comprehend what Shmi was telling him. This wasn't Earth? Of course it was Earth. Humans hadn't even traveled out of their own system yet. How did they end up on planets millions of light years from Earth? Perhaps humans had just developed on an parallel yet technologically accelerated path on a planet. But no. Shmi knew about Earth. Harry curled his small hands into the soft cloth of the shirt he was wearing. And yet, maybe this was a good thing.

Harry smiled shyly at Shmi. He wouldn't be going back to the Dursley's. There was no way for him to go back to the Dursley's because they were on Earth and Harry wasn't. He was free.

"Harry. We need to go now. I need to go and take care of my master now." Shmi glanced at the clock. "I'm going to be late as it is, but I'm sure that showing Pi-Lippa your adorable face will be enough to distract her for a bit." Shmi headed back into the bedroom for a moment, returning with two coats in her arms. She threw one over Harry's shoulder before doing the same to herself with the other coat. "We'll have to stop by on the way home and grab some clothes for you." Shmi was greatly amused by Harry wearing her coat. She had chosen a shorter one so that it wouldn't drag on the ground, but it still managed to reach his calves, and the sleeves completely swallowed his hands.

With the mention of getting Harry his own clothes he knew that Shmi had every intention of keeping him with her. Harry pulled one of the sleeves up to free his hand and grabbed hers, pulling her out the door and down the street, barely giving Shmi time to close and lock the door. He was very much excited to be able to spend the day with Shmi and he would get to meet Shmi's master. She had said that her master was kind. Would she like Harry? Harry came to a sudden stop, causing Shmi to almost run into him. What would happen if Shmi's master said that Harry couldn't stay with her?

Shmi could do nothing but smile at Harry's back as he pulled her down the road. She was simply glad that he was pulling her in the right direction as he seemed rather deep in his thoughts. She almost tripped as she reacted instinctively and sidestepped him when he came to a screeching halt.

"Harry?" Shmi tugged on his hand, urging him to continue the way they had been going. "We really do need to hurry." It was Harry's turn to be pulled along, his small legs easily moving in a hurried pace to keep up with Shmi's longer stride. Shmi could tell that something was troubling him and questioned him about it was they navigated through the small city to Pi-Lippa's dwelling.

Upon hearing Harry's fear of Pi-Lippa not letting Shmi keep him, she squeezed his hand lightly assuring him that he would melt Pi-Lippa's heart the moment she saw him. And in the off chance that Harry wasn't allowed to stay with Shmi, they would leave. Pi-Lippa didn't keep a tracker of Shmi so she could essentially leave at any time. But Shmi had had nowhere to go if she had wanted to leave. And she didn't want to leave. Pi-Lippa was more a valued friend, and Shmi would say that she was more employed by Pi-Lippa, though she wasn't payed, than owned.

They rushed along in silence after Shmi's declaration to leave if Harry couldn't stay with her. They both marveled at how lucky they were to find each other, and by the time they arrived at a large building, both had smiles on their faces.

Shmi lead Harry into and through the building, almost pulling him off his feet at one point when he stopped to stare at what he could only see as a space ship. His head was moving every which way trying to take in all the new things. There were robots! Some of them looked humanish with two arms and legs, and others were cylindrical that were rolling around. And aliens! Most of them where short, though taller than Harry, furry humanoids with large ears and faces. Over in a corner was a big slug looking alien with arms. And Harry thought he saw a glimpse of a green alien going up the ramp of the space ship.

Shmi carefully navigated through the hanger, being extra careful as Harry wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, and knocked on a door in the back. Entering when she herd permission to do so, pulling Harry in and closing the door behind him.

Sitting at a desk was another of the furry aliens, though Harry could tell this one was distinctively female and rather old, having an almost waif like appearance. She was staring at him, unnerving him to the point that he stared down at his shoes, hands idly playing with the cuffs of the jacket that he was wearing.

"Good morning Shmi. And guest." Her voice was rough, though not unpleasant on the ears. And despite her frail appearance it was strong and commanded attention. She moved some paperwork aside and made a gesture at the chairs across the desk from her. Shmi pulled Harry over to one of the chairs and sat him down before moving to the side of the room where there were some cabinets.

"Good morning Pi-Lippa. How are you feeling this morning?" This was Pi-Lippa? Shmi's owner. She wasn't anything like what Harry expected. But he hadn't exactly been expecting to see aliens. "Are you feeling any better?" Shmi had grabbed a bottle of water from the cabinet and gave it to Pi-Lippa, the concern she felt almost tangible. Pi-Lippa opened the water and took a small sip from it, clearing her throat after she had swallowed.

"Not at all." Shmi frowned at that response, hovering by Pi-Lippa. "I'm old Shmi. I'm expected to feel under the weather. It comes with the age. Now take a seat. I fear that you are worrying our guest." Pi-Lippa winked at Harry as Shmi sighed taking a seat. She knew that there really wasn't anything that she could do for her master. "Now what is your name young man?" Harry chewed on his lip, looking at Shmi, and with her nod answered the question. Pi-Lippa opened one of the drawers behind her desk and pulled out a book.

"Can you read young Harry?" At Harry's nod Pi-Lippa handed Harry the book and Harry read the cover. The adventures of Beedly the Bard. "Shmi and I need to discuss some boring adult things. You can either remain here or you can go outside and read. There's a couch just through that door." Harry hadn't noticed the door that was half hidden behind a cabinet when he had first walked in. "Either way you can keep the book." Harry once again nodded but made no move to get up and leave. He had the feeling that they would be talking about what to do with him.

Harry cracked open the book listening as Shmi talked about yesterday with half an ear. He flipped through the pages, not really reading nor listening though getting bits and pieces of both. He was a little over half way done with the book when I noticed that it was silent in the room. He glanced at Shmi to see her smiling and him, and turned his head to look at Pi-Lippa, who also appeared to be smiling.

"You're right Shmi." Pi-Lippa now had a serious look on her face as she stared at Shmi. "He is adorable." With a heavy sigh Pi-Lippa stood up and hobbled over to the cabinet, pulling out a drawer and riffling through some papers. "Alright kiddo. There's bad news and good news." Her voice was even rougher as if she were frustrated. "Bad news is that I'm going to have to attempt to find your owners or family or whatever." A whine came from Harry's throat and Shmi reached over to pat his knee. "The good news is that you can stay with Shmi until we find anything." Pi-Lippa continued without pause. A noise of triumph came from her as she grabbed a stack of papers and headed back to her desk. "And the better news is that I don't have to try to hard to find them." Harry felt devastated. Pi-Lippa knew the Dursley's and she was going to ship him back there.

A broken sob escaped him before he could stop it and he wrapped his arms around himself trying to curl into as small a ball as possible, the book sliding off his small lap and landing with a thud on the floor.

Pi-Lippa watched on in horror and the boy seemed to crumble before her eyes. From the way Shmi had talked she thought he would have been happy to know that he probably wouldn't have to go back. It was Shmi that came to the rescue realizing the double meaning in Pi-Lippa's last sentence and moving to gather Harry in her arms, rocking him softly.

"Oh honey. She meant that she wasn't going to try too hard to find them. Not that she knows them." She smoothed her hands through his flyaway hair. "We're going to do what we can to keep you here with us." Harry snapped his head up to look at her, almost smashing his head into her face.

"You mean it?" his voice was so hopeful. "I won't have to go back to the Dursley's?" Shmi shook her head, looking sad. She glanced over as Pi-Lippa to see her completely engrossed in her paper work.

"We have to let people know that we found you. And if the Dursley's come forward to claim you then there's nothing we can do to keep you here." Harry sighed and resigned himself to the fact that he may have to go back. "But we don't have to let many people know that you're here." There was something in her voice. "Nor do we have to remind people about it." Mischief. It was all Harry could think of when Shmi said that. She moved her mouth close to his ear and whispered so quietly that Harry almost missed it. "And if they come for you we'll run and never look back."

Shmi placed a kiss on his scarred forehead and moved Harry back to his chair, picking up the book and placing it on his lap. Harry opened the book again, flipping back to the page he thought he had left off at as Shmi moved back to her own chair. It was a short time later that Harry was distracted from his book by a sound from Pi-Lippa. It appeared that she was done with her papers.

"So here's the deal." Pi-Lippa steepled her long fingers together looking at Shmi and Harry with a gleeful, almost maniac smile on her face. "I'm not gonna claim Harry as a slave." She quickly held up a hand to prevent Shmi from talking. And judging by her open mouth, Shmi had something to say about that. "We're going to make people think he's a new slave. But the transmitter device will look like it's activated but won't be. We'll have to make sure that it can't actually be reactivated as well." Pi-Lippa's grin almost seemed malicious now. "Unfortunately if you get sold or traded I can't guarantee that they'll keep you two together. Not that I plan on ever selling either of you." Shmi sat in shock. It was genius. With a transmitter that appeared to work but didn't Harry could leave when ever he wanted. Pi-Lippa gave Shmi a hard look and continued. "I trust that you can make a transmitter for him?" Shmi shook off her shock confirming that she could do it. "Good. I'll have Dukan bring a transmitter to you in a little bit. There's nothing that you really need to do today so you can work on that. Make sure you bring it to me so that others don't get suspicious before you put it on him." And with that Pi-Lippa dismissed them.

Harry closed his book and followed Shmi out the door. Before shutting it Shmi turned to Pi-Lippa.

"If you need anything or start feeling worse let me know. Even if it is just to help you find your cane." Shmi quickly closed the door smirking, cutting off Pi-Lippa's rant about young people and whipper snappers. Harry had no idea what whipper snappers were but he didn't think he was one. Was he?

Shmi lead him over to a work bench that had one of the robots on it. Harry boggled at it. Was it sleeping? Did robots sleep? He doubted it. And judging by the fact that the chest compartment was open and suspiciously empty looking Harry doubted it would be up and walking around. Was it broken? Maybe it was dead. Did robots die?

"Alright Harry." Shmi pulled up a chair and had Harry sit on it. She reached over and stole the chair from the work bench next to the one they were at. Harry wondered if anyone would be missing their chair in a bit. The bench was empty so Harry didn't think anyone used it. "What do you know about droids?" Harry blinked at her confused. He had no idea what a droid was and voiced his knowledge aloud. It was Shmi's turn to blink. She pointed at the robot. "That's a droid. Didn't you have any with the Dursley's?" She made a confused sound when Harry shook his head indicating that this really was the first time he had seen a droid. Shmi pulled a screwdriver off the wall behind the bench.

"Pay attention now. I'm only gonna go over this once." And with that she started pointing out all the different parts of a droid, specifically in the arm that appeared to be half missing, the pieces laying around it. She informed Harry of the purpose of each piece and answered any questions he had. About twenty minutes into her lesson a red skinned man with horns walked up to them with a sneer on his face. He handed some kind of metal bracelet to Shmi before leaving them quickly. Shmi continued on as if nothing had happened, though Harry was a momentarily distracted with the mans appearance.

Once Shmi had finished with the parts in the arm, she skillfully unhooked the other arm from the rest of the droid, setting the arm and screwdriver on the empty bench next to them. She stood up, moving her chair out of the way before rolling Harry to the bench that now had the arm. She looked at the arm and grabbed a couple more tools off the wall setting them on Harry's bench.

"I want you to see if you can take it apart. Name all the pieces that you can remember as you do. Don't worry about breaking anything, and if you have any questions just ask." Harry stared at Shmi as she stared back at him before sitting down and wheeling herself over to her bench. Harry watched her as she studied the cuff that the man had brought over. Turning it over several times in her hands before reaching for a wrench and starting to take the outer casing off.

Harry turned back to look at the arm and tools, thinking that it looked exactly like a human arm would if it were metal. He tentatively lifted the arm up, studying it from each angle before setting it back down. He then looked over the tools. None of them looked like the one that he would need to get the casing off. He turned toward Shmi, watching her fiddle with the cuff for a bit before clearing his throat. Once she looked up at him he timidly told her that he wouldn't be able to get the casing off. The grin on her face was one of pride as she handed over the correct tool. Harry turned back to the arm and cautiously started taking the arm apart, naming the parts under his breath as he went. Once in a while he would turn to ask Shmi a question.

He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice when Shmi left. It wasn't until she set down a plate of something next to him, spooking him, that he set aside his tools and parts.

"Lunch time." Shmi said in a sing song voice. Sitting back down at her bench and digging into her food. Now that the food was in front of him Harry realized that he was rather hungry, although the food looked like a mush of brown with a few slices of something blue next to it. He was pretty sure that the bright blue thing on his plate was fruit, but the only fruit he knew of that was blue was blueberries. And this looked more like an orange, with electric blue pulp. He looked over to see Shmi eating while still fiddling with her contraption. Giving a shrug Harry started eating the food, being cautious as to not spill any of it. It honestly wasn't that bad and Harry didn't think he would mind eating it again sometime.

Once finished Harry had no idea where to take his dishes and so looked to Shmi for guidance. She was also done and seemed to be waiting for Harry. She stood up and grabbed her own dish starting toward the other side of the hanger.

"Come on Harry. I'll show you were the kitchen is." Harry tried to follow her as she wove between the fast paced movements in the hanger. It was only due to Harry's small size and experience with Harry hunting that allowed him to keep up with her. She moved through a door and into a larger room, that to Harry's amazement was louder than the hanger. There were tables all around and a bar over to the side. Everywhere Harry looked there were aliens eating and drinking strange foods. Shmi guided Harry up to the bar where she placed her dishes, and Harry stacked his on top. A small light purple alien, with a long snout like nose, was behind the bar and Harry watched as it flew over to them on small wings, grabbed the dishes and put them in a small window behind her.

"Hello Nilna. I want to introduce you to Harry. Pi-Lippa just bought him and he'll be staying with me. Harry, this is Nilna. If you ever get hungry come talk to her and she'll get you straightened out." Nilna leaned over the bar, using her long twiggy arms as leverage and peered down at Harry.

"He's too skinny!" Nilna exclaimed with a slight snort in her voice. "But that won't last long." Harry could hear her muttering under her breath about skinny spit-fucks as she flew away to help another customer. Shmi leaned down and informed Harry that he probably shouldn't come in here to get food on his own. Nilna might never let him leave if she got a hold of him.

As they headed back out into the hanger and back to their work station Shmi made sure to steer them over to the restrooms. It was as Harry was washing his hands that trouble occurred. The red horned being from before entered the bathroom, sauntering over to Harry as soon as his eyes landed on the boy.

"You're Pi-Lippa's new slave?" Harry was surprised to find himself pressed against the wall before he could finish nodding his head. "Slaves like you need to be taught their place. Pi-Lippa treats you scum too nicely." Harry knew better than to struggle. He had been through this before with his family and struggling always just made things worse. If only he could convince the buzzing in his ears that staying still was a better option. It was as the horned man was raising his hand to strike Harry that the buzzing reached it's heightened pitch and Harry decided that anything that the man did to him for struggling couldn't be any worse than the pain his ears were in.

Harry kicked out with his feet suddenly and landed on his bum when his captor let him go out of shock from being hit, although Harry hadn't felt his kicks connect. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Harry scurried out the door as quickly as his legs could carry him and got a face full of cloth as he ran into Shmi. Upon seeing his frightened face she picked him up and carried him over to their station. As they reached it Harry could see the man across the room with a glare on his face.

No matter how much Shmi questioned, Harry refused to speak about what had happened. He had learned early on at the Dursley's that things would only be worse if he talked to someone about it. Shmi relented with her questions and turned back to her work after informing Harry that if anything should happen he should go directly to herself to Pi-Lippa. She would be talk to Pi-Lippa about this when she checked on her before they left.

Shmi found herself done with the tracker only a few hours after lunch, and looked over to see Harry fast asleep at his work station. His head resting on his arms and the parts of the arm scattered around him. Tomorrow she would teach him how to clean all the parts and see if he could remember enough to put it back together. Her eyes roved over the parts and she immediately stopped a faulty piece, as well as a piece that was going to need to be replaced soon.

Shmi figured this would be a good time to go talk to Pi-Lippa, but with Harry being so disgruntled after lunch she was hesitant to leave the boy alone. Especially while he was sleeping and defenseless. She was hesitant to wake him, though she knew it was the best option. Both so he could defend himself if anything happened and so that he would be able to sleep later tonight. Shmi shook Harry's shoulder until he started at her with blinking eyes.

Once she was sure that he was fully awake and understood to come to her or Pi-Lippa if anything happened she grabbed the transmitter and went to have a visit with Pi-Lippa.

Harry let out a jaw cracking yawn as he watched Shmi walk away. He couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep like that. He had needed to break himself out of the habit of naps after he had learned how to walk, and was put to work at the Dursley's. Ever since he got here he had been really tired, and he was rather surprised that he hadn't fallen asleep earlier. Maybe he was coming down with something. It would explain why there was a buzzing in his ears once in a while. Harry sniffed his button nose. It didn't feel like he was catching a cold.

With nothing left to do Harry started renaming all the pieces of the droid that he could remember. And it wasn't long before he herd Shmi calling his name and beckoning him over to Pi-Lippa's door. Harry hastened over, his shoulders stiff, feeling eyes on him until the door was closed behind him. Once in he took the seat that he had sat in earlier and waited for the others to start.

It was Pi-Lippa that began, explaining about the transmitter and the modifications that Shmi had made to it. Designed to make others believe he couldn't leave when in fact he was, for all intent and purposes, free. Pi-Lippa handed Shmi an envelope and let them know that they were free to leave for the day, advising them to spend the time buying necessities for Harry as all the contacts that she could get a hold of had no idea who the Dursley's were.

Once Shmi confirmed with Pi-Lippa that she didn't need anything, they headed out the door and onto the busy streets. Shmi reached down and grabbed Harry's hand as she did not want him to get lost in the hustle and bustle. Harry had not been prepared to see so many people on the streets and both the other times he had been out the streets had seemed almost deserted.

After a brief stop into a clothing store, Harry was now the proud owner of several simple sets of clothes. They were a little large on him to allow room for growth, but they didn't hang off of him like Dudley's clothes. And his shoes fit his feet and didn't give him blisters. Harry never put much importance on his clothes, but he felt like a whole new person wearing his own clothes. He felt like for once he could be a normal little boy and not a freak.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong> After beating my head against the proverbial wall that will be the second part of this chapter for a few weeks I have decided to post this.

**Clearing things up:** Yes, Anakin will be born. This is set in both the past and the future. Harry disappeared in 1985 (past) and appeared in 45 BBY(future). Anakin will be born in 42 BBY. (Thanks, Phynixfire for catching that mistake.)


End file.
